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The Role of Motivation in Second Language Acquisition

38 | P a g e MIDTESOL JOURNAL, Volume 1, October 2018 © 2018 MIDTESOL

The Role of Motivation in Second Language Acquisition for Saudi EFL Learners

Samah Faqeeh Missouri State University

Abstract

Motivation is considered an indispensable component of second language learning. This present

study aimed to study Saudi EFL learners’ motivation through the lens of the conceptual

framework of Dörnyei’s (2005, 2009) L2 Motivational Self System Theory. The project explored

the sub-components that influence English acquisition of Saudi learners and that are based on

preliminary findings of the survey research of You and Dörnyei (2016). The participants were 56

Saudi graduate and undergraduate students. The results were that Saudi ESL students are

strongly motivated by their ideal L2 selves. In addition, statistically, their ideal L2 selves are

significantly positively correlated with their intended effort. The findings have implications for

teachers who would like to improve their own ability to influence and grow Saudi students’ L2

motivation and to help their students achieve success.


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Introduction

For many decades, researchers of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) have been

looking for the most important factors that benefit learners of a second language (L2). Some

factors are beneficial when learning an L2 while others are necessary. Motivation is considered

one of the most important and mandatory factors that L2 learners need to have. Students’ success

in second language learning is heavily dependent on their motivational level (Dörnyei, 2014).

Indeed, some motivational sources are dynamic while others are more static. For the first

sources, they are dynamic because they are related to the students’ immediate learning

environment. As for the others, they are static because they are originating from the progression

of prior experience of students in the society (Dörnyei & Csizér, 2002). Zoltán Dörnyei and

some of his colleagues have concluded that motivation is a dynamic and ever-changing variable.

Dörnyei (2005, 2009) proposed a new model called Motivational L2 Self System

(L2MSS). This model has been applied in multiple recent studies because of its validity.

However, very little, if any, research has been conducted with this new paradigm on Saudi EFL

learners. Thus, more studies are needed to explore Saudi students’ motivation to assist their

English acquisition. This research is very important to be conducted on Saudi students because

knowing how Saudi learners can be motivated to study the language can assist their teachers in

addressing them correctly. If students are motivated by their ideal L2 selves, their instructors

should always encourage that visualization of the ideal self, noting how fluent and proficient in

using English learners would be, to keep their motivation constant. This project is replicating

You and Dörnyei’s (2016) large-scale survey study.

The theoretical framework for this study is the Motivational L2 Self System, which is an

adapted model from Dörnyei (2005). The main objective of this research was to investigate the

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sources of Saudi EFL learners’ motivation to learn English using Dörnyei’s (2005, 2009) L2MSS

model. In addition, the present study sought to examine the influence of students’ future self

types on their intended effort to learn English. This research involved fifty-six Saudi students

who are currently studying in U.S. institutions of higher education. This project used You and

Dörnyei’s (2016) questionnaire; this questionnaire was distributed online using a Google

document hyperlink. The result of this research provides implications for teachers who would

improve their own ability to influence and grow Saudi students’ L2 motivation and to help their

students achieve success.

Literature Review

Theoretical Underpinnings

Motivation is considered a variable that strongly affects the success of language learning.

It is an essential force needed to start learning a language and later to continue this process long

term. Research into L2 motivation has been developed over time through different stages. It can

be succinctly staged into three periods: the social psychological period (1959-1990s), the

cognitive-situated period (1990s), and the process-oriented period (2000s-present) (Dörnyei,

2005).

First, during the social psychological period, several social and educational theories were

stated. The earliest and most dominant model was the social-educational model, which was

based on Robert Gardner’s work. In Gardner’s model, integrativeness, which cultivates favorable

attitudes toward the target community and its people, and attitudes toward L2 learning were

regarded as the most influential factors that determined the extent to which students can be

motivated and actively learn the second language.


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Motivation was classified into two different types: integrative and instrumental

motivation. The former indicates that the reason for learning a language is to become a part of

the target culture and community while the latter indicates that the learner’s aim of learning a

language is to develop and succeed in one’s professional life (Gardner & Lambert, 1959, 1972).

Gardner’s theory was dominant for more than three decades in the L2 field. However, this socio-

educational model remained underdeveloped over time. It viewed learning a second language as

a process that depends on sociocultural interaction (Dörnyei, 2005).

During the cognitive-situated period in the 1990s, newly developed theories on L2

motivation were proposed. This period was strongly influenced by Deci and Ryan’s (1985)

theory of human self-determination. According to self-determination theory, a learner’s

motivation can be classified into three types: intrinsic motivation, an inner interest and

enjoyment of learning the L2; extrinsic motivation, something performed to gain extrinsic

rewards, such as praise, money, or grades; and amotivation, identified by the learner’s lack of

motivation (Ryan and Deci, 2000; Noels et al., 2003). However, it has been argued that

eventually the individual will realize the unavoidable fact that motivation also has a temporal

dimension in that it is constantly changing (Waninge et al, 2014). Representing this change

requires process-oriented models of motivation.

The most prominent and current stage is the process-oriented period, which is based on

Dörnyei and his colleagues’ most recent research on L2 motivation. Dörnyei has advocated the

idea that L2 motivation is not a static but rather a dynamic force. “Recent theorizing on second

language (L2) motivation has proposed viewing motivation as a function of the language

learners’ vision of their desired future language selves” (Dörnyei & Chan, 2013, p. 437). This

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view shows how motivation is an unsteady, ever-changing force, which depends on the learner’s

vision of the desired future self.

L2 Motivational Self System Conceptual Framework

During the process-oriented period, Dörnyei (2005, 2009) proposed a new motivational

model called L2 Motivational Self System. L2MSS theory, based on the concept of Possible

Selves Theory (Markus & Nurius, 1986), is seen as a part of self-realization and has three key

dimensions.

First, Ideal L2 self, the powerful impetus to learn L2, refers to an individual’s ideally

imagined self, who s/he would like to become as an L2 speaker in the future (Dörnyei, 2005). To

reach ideal L2 self, learners will be highly motivated because they have a vision for themselves

beyond their original status. In other words, learners attempt to reduce the discrepancies between

their current and ideal selves, which results in a considerable increase in their motivation

(Dörnyei, 2009). Second, ought-to L2 self refers to the individual’s attempt to avoid potential

negative outcomes by following what others would like him to be. Third, L2 learning

experience, considered situation-specific stimuli, refers to the instant learning environment,

which can affect the learner’s experience during learning the language, such as teachers’ styles,

strategies of teaching, curricula, and so on (Dörnyei, 2005).

It is important to mention that the two types of future selves differ motivationally from

each other. They have different tendencies. While ideal-self guides focus on a promotion, ought-

to L2 self guides focus on prevention obligations (Higgins, 1998). Based on these tendencies,

two aspects of the instrumentality within L2MSS theory were found (Dörnyei, 2005, 2009):

promotional and preventional instrumentality. The first means the learner is instrumentally

motivated to obtain a professional achievement whereas the latter is to meet the expectations of


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his parents. While the former is related to the ideal L2 self, the latter is related to the ought-to L2

self (You & Dörnyei, 2016).

Because L2MSS is considered the theoretical underpinning for the most recent research

on L2 motivation, numerous studies have been conducted using it as a theoretical framework.

You and Dörnyei (2016) conducted a large-scale questionnaire study of the motivational

disposition of English language learners at high schools and universities in China using L2MSS.

The sample was stratified in terms of geographical regions and teaching contexts. They surveyed

10,413 students. The significant finding was that the preventional instrumentality of the

participants was low, which is the opposite of the stereotypical thought that Chinese learners are

motivated by their parents and peers’ expectations to learn English.

In short, linguistic scholars have examined the L2 motivation across the world; however,

to the best of the researcher’s knowledge, the L2 motivation has not been extensively

investigated through the lens of L2 Motivational Self System theory on EFL Saudi students.

Hence, this study attempted to investigate this topic in regards to Saudi EFL students.

Present Study

Research Focus

The main objective of this research was to have an overview of Saudi EFL learners’

motivation to learn English in American institutions using Dörnyei’s (2005, 2009) L2MSS

model. Two critical questions were addressed in this research:

1. Do Saudi EFL learners' images of future self include proficiency in English?

2. Do the types of students’ future self-dimensions (ideal and ought-to L2 selves) influence

their intended effort to learn English language?

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Because families have a notable influence on their children in Asian cultures, there is an

assumption that ought-to L2 self plays a very important role in Asian settings (Lockwood et al.,

2005). The hypothesis driving the present study was that Saudi EFL learners would have a high

level of ought-to L2 self. That means they would picture themselves achieving proficiency in

English because of the expectations of their families.

Methodology

Participants

The participants for this project were adult EFL learners from Saudi Arabia who are

currently studying abroad at U.S. institutions of higher education. The researcher started by

distributing the survey to ten Saudi EFL learners who are studying at Missouri State University.

After they participated, they forwarded the questionnaire to their peers and acquaintances. In

total, fifty-six students participated in this study. The demographic information is shown below

in Table 1. There were 22 males and 34 females. Of the whole sample, 30 respondents were

majoring in English and 26 had other majors. 68.18 percent of males and 67.64 percent of

females were English majors. Because of the nature of the snowball sampling process, the

sample was not evenly distributed among undergraduate and graduate students. 80.4 percent of

the sample were graduate students.

Table 1: Demographic information of participants Gender Major in English Study degree ———————————————————————————————————— Male 22 Yes 15 Graduate 16 No 7 Undergraduate 6 ———————————————————————————————————— Female 34 Yes 23 Graduate 29 No 11 Undergraduate 5


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Instrument

The survey instrument used in this project was developed by You and Dörnyei (2016) for

their study in China. This questionnaire consists of 73 items on a Likert scale ranging from one

for strongly disagree to six for strongly agree, and it concentrates on three areas: the dimensions

of the L2 Motivational Self System, intended effort, and language learning vision. For the

purpose of the present study, the researcher focused on the first two areas of the questionnaire.

The final questionnaire distributed for this project contained 47 items and three demographic

questions regarding participants’ gender, degree of study, and major. The survey was

transformed to a Google Forms document. A concise summary of the L2 motivational variables

discussed in this study are illustrated below in Table A in Appendix A. The questionnaire can be

found in Appendix B.

Data Collection and Analysis

The data collection took place in October 2017 after getting IRB approval. Snowball

sampling was used to collect data. The investigator initially emailed the Google Form hyperlink

to the first ten participants who were studying at Missouri State University. Participants were

asked to forward the survey to their peers and friends at other U.S. institutions. Fifty-six students

responded to the questionnaire. On average, the survey took approximately 15 minutes to be

completed. After completion of the questionnaire, the researcher converted the data into

Microsoft Excel. Because of the small number of participants, the data were analyzed using the

means of the responses. Due to the use of Intended Effort as a criterion measure of students’

achievement, a Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated to assess the degree of association

of future self-dimensions (ideal L2 self and ought-to L2 self) with students’ intended effort.

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Results

In the present study, the means of each variable of the nine motivational variables were

measured to address the first research question. On a 6-point scale, the mean of each variable

ranged from 3.37 to 4.75. In addition, of the nine scales, the mean values of eight scales

outstripped the midpoint, 3.50, which means that learners were responding, in general, favorably

to learning English. The mean of responses for each variable is displayed in Table 2 below.

Regarding the three main motivational variables, the participants overall responded positively

towards ideal L2 self, attitudes to L2 Learning, and ought-to L2 self respectively. Although

ought-to L2 self scored the lowest compared to the other two main variables, it is still regarded as

a motivating factor for language learning because it received an average above the midpoint

(3.50) on the 6-point Likert scale. Intended effort received a high average of 4.55. In general, it

can be concluded that Saudi EFL learners had a favorable disposition towards learning English

as a foreign language.

Table 2: Descriptive information about the motivational variables

Variables Mean ———————————————————————————————————— Ideal L2 Self 4.75 Instrumentality-promotion 4.28 Cultural Interest 4.31 Traveling 4.56 Ought-to L2 Self 3.52 Instrumentality-prevention 4.38 Parental expectations 3.37 Attitudes to L2 Learning 4.66 Intended effort 4.55

More focus on the figures in Table 2 shows that while the ought to L2 self scale received

an overall mean of 3.52, which indicates it is still in the positive domain, it is considered one of

the lowest scores. Surprisingly, students responded negatively to the parental expectations


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component; it is the lowest of all scales (3.37). This result counters Lockwood and his

colleagues’ (2005) claim that Asian families influence their children’ choices and that students

are motivated to learn a language because of their parents’ expectations. In addition, this result

also opposes the research hypothesis, which is that Saudi EFL learners have a high level of

ought-to L2 self and picture themselves achieving proficiency in English because of the

expectations of their families.

Indeed, the ideal L2 self ranked considerably higher on all scales than ought-to L2 scales.

It received the highest mean; Saudi EFL students significantly ranked it 4.75 on a 6-point Likert

scale. Within the ideal L2 self domain, the participants positively responded to cultural interest

and instrumentality-promotion, 4.31 and 4.28 respectively. Also, the traveling variable ranked a

high mean, 4.56. As for the third primary variable, attitudes to L2 Learning, it reported the

highest mean, 4.66, after the ideal L2 self. These results showed how Saudi EFL learners were

highly motivated.

Gender Comparison

In this section, the nine L2 motivational variables are illustrated by gender. Table 3 below

displays data. Although no significant differences were found between males and females in

the most of the variables, it can be clearly seen that the female participants scored higher than

their male peers across the scales. It seems that the participants’ gender did not influence how

positively they envisioned themselves; both males and females significantly positively ranked

the ideal L2 self the highest across the variables, 4.50 and 4.91 respectively.

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Table 3: The motivational findings broken down by gender (M=male, F=female) Variables Gender M (22) F (34) ——————————————————————————————————— Ideal L2 Self 4.50 4.91 Instrumentality-promotion 4.01 4.46 Cultural interest 4.06 4.47 Traveling 4.23 4.78 Ought-to L2 Self 3.40 3.61 Instrumentality-prevention 4.08 4.58 Parental expectations 3.34 3.38 Attitudes to L2 Learning 4.29 4.91 Intended effort 4.44 4.62 ———————————————————————————————————

Interestingly, there are no significant gendered differences found regarding the two scales

that report ought-to L2 self and parental expectations (societal expectations). Comparing to the

other variables, both male and female participants negatively responded to ought-to L2 (3.40 and

3.61 respectively) and parental expectations (3.34 and 3.38 respectively), which received the

lowest means across the board. These results showed that ought-to L2 self and parental

expectations were not counted as motivating factors for Saudi EFL students. As for attitudes to

L2 learning, males and females positively responded to this variable with a mean of 4.29 and

4.91 respectively. As for the intended effort scale, both male and female participants significantly

responded to it (4.44 and 4.62 respectively), and no significant gendered distinctions are found

considering this variable. According to the current results, the strongest motivating variables for

Saudi male and female participants were ideal L2 self and attitudes to L2 learning.

Intended Effort and Future Self-Dimensions Correlations

In this study, it was important to measure how Saudi EFL learners commit towards

learning English by measuring the time and energy they invest to acquire an L2. The intended


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effort was used as a criterion measure of students’ achievement. To help answer the second

research question, a Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated to assess the degree of

association of future self-dimensions (ideal L2 self and ought-to L2 self) with students’ intended

effort. Table 4 shows the correlation between future self-dimensions of the L2 Motivational Self

System constructs with Saudi participants’ intended effort.

The result demonstrated that, statistically, ideal L2 future self correlated significantly

positively with intended effort to learn the English language among Saudi EFL learners, r(54) =

.68, p < .001. In addition, ought-to L2 future self correlated statistically significantly positively

with intended effort to learn the English language among Saudi EFL learners, r(54) = .47, p <

.001. See graphs A & B in Appendix C. Even though, statistically, both self dimensions

significantly positively correlated with intended effort, the ideal L2 self reported more

correlation with intended effort variable. Also, the t test was run to determine which one of these

two correlations, ideal L2 or ought-to L2, was more strongly related to intended effort. It was

determined that ideal L2 was significantly more strongly related to intended effort than ought-to

L2.

Table 4: Correlations between self dimension variables and intended effort Variables Correlation with Intended Effort ————————————————————————————————— Ideal L2 Self .68* Ought-to L2 Self .47* ————————————————————————————————— * Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Findings

In the present study, the most prominent finding was that Saudi EFL participants strongly

ranked ideal L2 self and its subscales high among the L2 Motivational Self System construct.

They gave ideal L2 self the highest mean of 4.75 on 6-point scale Likert. This high mean

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indicated that Saudi learners had a strong ideal L2 self and were motivated by a vision of

successfully using English in the future. Indeed, these results helped answer the first research

question, “Do Saudi EFL learners' images of future self include proficiency in English?” They

strongly desired high proficiency because they had high ideal L2 self and, as a result, can

visualize themselves using the language to make friends and conversations, go to school, and so

on. Because the participants were already in the foreign country, they experienced using the

language in different ways to adjust their new life, which positively attributed in strengthening

their images of their future self, ideal L2 self. Their motivation could change if the respondents

were just learning English in school at home in comparison to learning it in foreign country

where they need to know it to survive.

In addition to ideal L2 self, attitudes to L2 learning, characterized by statements such as

“I find learning English really interesting,” positively showed the second highest mean of 4.66,

which indicated how Saudi EFL learners were also stimulated by the L2 learning environment.

Saudi participants ranked a high level of intended effort to invest in L2 learning. Saudi EFL

learners’ ideal L2 selves were strongly correlated with their intended effort, which indicated that

their ideal L2 selves positively influenced their intended effort to learn English. Thus, the more

strongly they visualize an ideal vision of themselves, the more they intend to invest their effort in

learning English. These results helped answer the second research question, “Do the types of

students’ future self-dimensions (ideal and ought-to L2 selves) influence their intended effort to

learn the English language?”

Traveling reported the highest mean, 4.56, after ideal L2 self and attitudes to L2 learning.

This variable seemed a strong impetus for Saudi EFL respondents in order to be able to use the

language during traveling to communicate with foreign people. This variable is characterized by


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a statement such as “I study English because with English I can enjoy traveling abroad.” Because

the participants were in the foreign country, America, they felt they were obliged to learn

English to survive. In the same line with traveling, cultural interest scored a high mean as well.

It refers to the interest of L2 learners in L2 speakers’ culture. It seemed to be a motivating factor

for Saudi students because it can allow them to better understand the L2 culture. Also, having

knowledge about the L2 culture can enable Saudi learners to communicate with L2 speakers

successfully.

Unexpectedly, the ought-to L2 self was found to be a less motivating factor for Saudi

EFL learners with the lowest mean, 3.52, across seven scales out of nine. Besides ought-to L2

self, parental expectations variable scored the lowest mean across the board, 3.37. These results

discredited Lockwood and his colleagues’ (2005) claim that Asian families have a strong impact

on their children’s choices, which makes them motivated not because of themselves but because

of their parents. This claim was not true for Saudi participants. Those findings were surprising

and opposed to the research hypothesis, which was as follows: Saudi EFL learners have a high

level of ought-to L2 self and picture themselves achieving proficiency in English because of their

families’ expectations.

It is important to mention that the participants significantly negatively responded to two

statements from the survey regarding their parents’ expectations. Statement 10 was that “I have

to study English, because, otherwise, I think my parents will be disappointed with me,” and

statement 16 was that “Studying English is important to me in order to gain the approval of my

family.” Those statements received very low means, 2.91 and 2.58 respectively. Saudi learners’

responses substantiated that they were not motivated to learn English by external factors but

rather by envisioning themselves using the language proficiently for different purposes

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In terms of gender differences, the findings showed that even though no statistically

significant distinctions were found in most of the scales, female participants in general scored

higher than their male counterparts did across the variables. Both male and female respondents

were most motivated by their ideal L2 selves, so their genders did not affect the factor by which

they are mostly motivated. Also, the participants’ gender did not influence how they reacted to

ought-to L2 self and parental expectations variables, on which both genders scored the lowest

means across the board.

Conclusion

The present study replicated You and Dörnyei’s (2016) large-scale questionnaire study

that surveyed 10,413 Chinese students in their homeland country. This study aimed to explore

Saudi EFL learners’ L2 motivation using Dörnyei’s (2005, 2009) conceptual framework, the L2

Motivational Self System construct. Of all findings of this study, the most prominent one was

that Saudi EFL learners were significantly motivated by their ideal L2 selves. They had a strong

ideal L2 self, which made them visualize themselves proficiently using English. In addition, their

ideal L2 selves significantly correlated with their intended effort. This strong correlation

indicated that the more Saudi students had visualized idealized selves, the more they intended to

invest their effort in studying English. Surprisingly, they were not influenced by the societal

expectations and external factors, which countered the stereotype that Asian students’ choices

are affected by their families.

The findings of this study had implications for ESL instructors who would like to

improve their own ability to influence and grow Saudi students’ L2 motivation and to help their

students achieve success. Knowing how Saudi learners can be motivated to study the language

can assist their teachers in addressing them correctly. If students are motivated by their ideal L2


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selves, their instructors should always encourage that visualization of the ideal self, noting how

fluent and proficient in using English learners would be, to keep their motivation constant. To

the best of the researcher’s knowledge, L2 motivation has not been extensively investigated

through the lens of the L2 Motivational Self System theory on Saudi EFL students. Thus, more

studies are needed to explore their motivation better. Because this study used snowball sampling,

only a small number of participants’ responses were collected. To generalize the results, more

studies need to be conducted on this population. Additionally, this study could have very

different results if it had been conducted with Saudi EFL students who are studying in their

homeland in the EFL context; those results could be compared to the results of the present study

to explore if Saudi students studying in their home context are still motivated by their ideal L2

self and if there are any remarkable influences resulting from their parents and society.

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References

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Appendix A:

Table A: Information about the motivational variables (adapted from You & Dörnyei, 2016)

Variables Number of Items Examples

Ideal L2 Self 5 I can imagine myself in the future having a discussion with foreign friends in English.

Instrumentality-promotion 6 Studying English can be important to me because I think I’ll need it for further studies.

Cultural Interest 5 I like English films. Traveling 5 I study English because with English I can enjoy

traveling abroad. Ought-to L2 Self 6 I consider learning English important because the

people I respect think that I should do it. Instrumentality-prevention 5 I will study English harder when thinking of not

becoming a successful user of English in the future. Parental expectations 5 I have to study English, because, otherwise, I think

my parents will be disappointed with me. Language learning

experience (attitudes to L2 learning)

5 I find learning English really interesting.

Intended effort 5 Even if I failed in my English learning, I would still learn English very hard.


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Appendix B:

Survey adapted from You and Dörnyei (2016)

English Learner Questionnaire Informed consent You have been invited to participate voluntarily in a research study by answering questions in a survey. The goal of the study is to better understand the motivation of Saudi learners of English. Before you agree to participate in this study, it is important that you read and understand this form. This survey is not a test; there are no “right” or “wrong” answers. The researchers are interested in your personal opinion. If you have any questions about the survey, about the study, or your role in the study, be sure to ask the study supervisor, Dr. Andrea Hellman, and she will answer them for you. You can contact her at: [email protected] Taking part in this study is entirely your choice. If you decide to take part but later change your mind, you may stop at any time. If you decide to stop, you do not have to give a reason and there will be no negative consequences for ending your participation. Your name will not appear on the questionnaire and the results of this study are confidential. The information gathered will be accessible only to the study supervisor and the researcher. You will not be identified by name in any publications that could result from this research. All information from this study will be destroyed within two years after the completion of the survey. If you are willing to participate in the research, please select agree and then click on NEXT button in order to complete the questionnaire. Thank you for your time and cooperation. ________________________________________________________

Part I In this part, we would like you to tell us how much you agree or disagree with the following statements by simply circling a number from 1 to 6. Please do not leave out any items.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Slightly Disagree Slightly Agree Agree Strongly Agree

1 2 3 4 5 6

Example: If you slightly disagree with the statement, mark the 3: I like skiing very much. 1 2 3 4 5 6

1. Learning English is important to me because I would like to travel internationally. 1 2 3 4 5 6 2. I like English films. 1 2 3 4 5 6 3. My parents/family believe that I must study English to be an educated person. 1 2 3 4 5 6

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4. Studying English is important to me in order to gain the approval of the society. 1 2 3 4 5 6 5. Studying English can be important to me because I think I’ll need it for further studies. 1 2 3 4 5 6 6. I always look forward to English classes. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7. I think learning English is important in order to learn more about the culture and art of its speakers. 1 2 3 4 5 6 8. Studying English is important to me because I am planning to study abroad. 1 2 3 4 5 6 9. I can imagine myself speaking English in the future with foreign friends at parties. 1 2 3 4 5 6 10. I have to study English, because, otherwise, I think my parents will be disappointed with me. 1 2 3 4 5 6 11. Studying English is important to me because without English I won’t be able to travel a lot. 1 2 3 4 5 6 12. Studying English is important to me in order to gain the approval of my peers. 1 2 3 4 5 6 13. Studying English is important to me because other people will respect me more if I have a knowledge of English. 1 2 3 4 5 6 14. I like TV programmes made in English-speaking countries. 1 2 3 4 5 6 15. I study English because close friends of mine think it is important. 1 2 3 4 5 6 16. Studying English is important to me in order to gain the approval of my family. 1 2 3 4 5 6 17. I like to travel to English-speaking countries. 1 2 3 4 5 6 18. I can imagine myself in the future giving an English speech successfully to the public in the future. 1 2 3 4 5 6 19. Studying English is important to me, because I would feel ashamed if I got bad grades in English. 1 2 3 4 5 6 20. I really like the actual process of learning English. 1 2 3 4 5 6 21. Studying English is important to me in order to achieve a personally important goal (e.g., to get a degree or scholarship). 1 2 3 4 5 6 22. I will study English harder when thinking of not becoming a successful user of English in the future. 1 2 3 4 5 6 23. Studying English is important to me in order to gain the approval of my teachers. 1 2 3 4 5 6 24. Studying English is important to me because my life will change if I acquire good command of English. 1 2 3 4 5 6 25. My dreams of how I want to use English in the future are the same as those of my parents’. 1 2 3 4 5 6 26. I really like the music of English-speaking countries (e.g., pop music). 1 2 3 4 5 6 27. I find learning English really interesting. 1 2 3 4 5 6 28. I can imagine a situation where I am doing business with foreigners by speaking English. 1 2 3 4 5 6 29. I study English because with English I can enjoy travelling abroad. 1 2 3 4 5 6 30. Studying English is necessary for me because I don’t want to get a poor score mark or a fail mark in English proficiency tests (NMET, CET, MET, IELTS,…). 1 2 3 4 5 6 31. I think time passes faster while studying English. 1 2 3 4 5 6 32. I consider learning English important because the people I respect think that I should do it. 1 2 3 4 5 6


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33. I can imagine that in the future in a café with light music, a foreign friend and I will be chatting in English casually over a cup of coffee. 1 2 3 4 5 6 34. When thinking of not becoming a successful user of English in the future, I feel scared. 1 2 3 4 5 6 35. I can feel a lot of pressure from my parents when I’m learning English. 1 2 3 4 5 6 36. Learning English is important to me because I plan to travel to English-speaking countries in the future. 1 2 3 4 5 6 37. I like English-language magazines, newspapers, and books. 1 2 3 4 5 6 38. I really enjoy learning English. 1 2 3 4 5 6 39. I have to learn English because I don’t want to fail the English course. 1 2 3 4 5 6 40. I can imagine myself in the future having a discussion with foreign friends in English. 1 2 3 4 5 6 41. Studying English is important to me because an educated person is supposed to be able to speak English. 1 2 3 4 5 6 42. My image of how I want to use English in the future is mainly influenced by my parents. 1 2 3 4 5 6 43. I am prepared to expend a lot of effort in learning English. 1 2 3 4 5 6 44. I would like to spend lots of time studying English. 1 2 3 4 5 6 45. I would like to concentrate on studying English more than any other topic. 1 2 3 4 5 6 46. Even if I failed in my English learning, I would still learn English very hard. 1 2 3 4 5 6 47. English would be still important to me in the future even if I failed in my English course. 1 2 3 4 5 6

Part II Please provide the following information by ticking (✓) in the box or writing your response in the space to help us to better interpret your previous answers. 74. [ ] Male [ ] Female 78. Are you majoring in English in college? [ ] yes [ ] no By submitting this questionnaire I agree that my answers, which I have given voluntarily, can be used anonymously for research purposes.

Thank you again for your cooperation!

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Appendix C:

Graph A: The correlation between ideal L2 self with students’ intended effort


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Graph B: The correlation between ideal L2 self with students’ intended effort

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Samah Faqeeh is a graduate student at Missouri State University. She graduated from MSU and completed her Master of English with an emphasis in TESOL on December 15, 2017. She has focused her research on motivation and its effective role on second language acquisition. She is interested in research and writing articles.

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